Twin No More
by ecrire.claustrum
Summary: Deathly Hallows Spoilers! George is all alone in the world now. How can you be a twin without your other half?


**Warning: Deathly Hallows Spoilers.**

**A/N: I was so devastated when Fred died. So, in memory of him, I write this FanFic about the bond the twins shared. Everyone may be doing the same, but I can't leave his death untouched. Yes, it's long and most of it is drabble, but oh well. **

**Rating: "T" – for character death**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter series. **

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George Weasley was in the Great Hall, fighting for his life. There were Death Eaters everywhere, and only a handful of people left to fight them. George and his family were part of them.

In the midst of the war, a loud voice came. It was strong, loud, a cruel. The voice of Voldemort echoed through the castle. He told them that the war would cease for an hour, and would end permanently if Harry Potter presented himself to him. _'Fat Chance._' George thought to himself.

After their master's voice stopped, the Death Eaters left the room, disapparating (for the charm lifted from the castle) or walking out. George held his wand up all the same. He didn't trust them. If he lowered his defenses he was sure that he would die. The moment they had all left the castle, he finally put his arm down and finally looked around the room.

The Great Hall was a mess. He had never seen it this dirty, or depressing. The tables were pushed to the side of the room where people were leaning against. Bodies were on the floor, Death Eaters and Others alike. Most were stunned, jinxed, or cursed, but there were also many dead. You could see people carefully lifting the bodies up and laying them gently on a table or floor, where families would gather and weep over the loss. George prayed that his family wouldn't be one of them.

He walked around the room, looking for his family members. He found his parents, Bill and Fleur standing on the side, weeping over two bodies. George hesitated. Ron, Percy, Ginny, and Fred were not there. What if the bodies were two of them? He numbly stepped forward. The bodies weren't any of his brothers or sister, but that did not make the pain better. They were Remus and Tonks, looking up at the sky with a peaceful expression on their faces. George felt a tear roll down his cheek. The poor baby, losing both parents just as Harry lost his, fighting for the greater good.

He was going to put an arm around his mother when he saw Percy burst into the room. He stopped in his tracks when he saw his family there. George approached the brother he had once hated. He never saw Percy like this. His clothes, usually so neat and clean, were filthy and torn. His clean face covered in dirt and grime. George could see tear tracks on his face. He didn't want to know what horrors his brother has seen that could him cry.

"George," Percy said when George had approached him. He looked past George and his eyes widened when he saw the weeping family. George noticed this.

"It's not one of us," he said, fighting back tears "its Remus and Tonks."

Percy looked horrified. "But, you told me that they had a baby boy!" he said, his voice trembling.

George nodded. Percy shook his head, more tears rolling down his face. George tried to make light of the situation.

"Percy, you're so emotional now! Did the Ministry do something to that big head of yours?" George said, forcing a smile "Think of what Fred would say when he sees you like this!"

At Fred's name Percy looked up. George could see pain clear in his eyes. Percy looked at shoes again.

"Percy?" George asked.

"G-George, I-I" Percy's voice was faltering. More tears came. "Y-you see, w-while we were f-f-fighting," George looked at his older brother. He was afraid of what would come out of his mouth.

Percy finally broke. He gave a loud sob and began crying uncontrollably. George, stunned by Percy's reaction, said in a soft voice, "Percy, tell me what's happened. I can't help if you don't tell me."

Percy shook his head, still sobbing. "You don't understand!" he cried "It's, it's Fred!" he broke down crying once more. George just looked at him, at a loss for words.

"What do you mean?" he asked, although he already knew the answer.

Percy stopped crying, but his face was still contorted with pain. "Follow me." He said, and he turned and walked out of the Great Hall. George followed him.

They walked around the halls of the school, and everywhere they went there were signs of destruction. Crumbling walls, bodies on the floor, it was a horrible sight. Finally, Percy stopped in the middle of a hallway, far from the Great Hall. George looked around and saw nothing. Percy pointed a trembling hand to the suit of armor. George walked to where Percy was pointing. As he drew closer to the suit of armor, he noticed a pair of legs and feet. A familiar pair of legs and feet. George felt his heart stop. He wanted to back away but he knew that he must continue. He continued forwards until he reached the suit of armor. There he saw something that he had always feared he would see.

He saw Fred's body, stiff and pale, lying behind the suit of armor. George just stood there, looking into his twin's pale face. He saw traces of a smile etched on his face which offered little comfort, knowing that his brother had died happy. Then, feeling as though he could never feel his legs again, he knelt down beside Fred's body and started crying. He couldn't bare see him like this, he always thought that the Weasley twins would both live until they were old and wrinkly, and even then still be pulling pranks and being mischievous. This wasn't right, it just wasn't right.

"FRED!" he screamed "FRED! Please, wake up! FRED! Don't leave me! NO!" he thought it was a joke, a horrible joke. Sometimes Fred can go too far with them. "FRED! WAKE UP YOU GIT! PLEASE!" His body shook violently with the sobs. This wasn't right. They were _twins_, whatever happened to one happened to the other. If Fred died, he had to too. But he was too cowardly. But all the same he wanted to be with his brother again.

He felt Percy's presence behind him, but he didn't care. Nothing mattered now that his twin brother and best friend had died. "He was joking when he died. His last thought was joyful and happy." Percy said his voice soft and shaky. George didn't hear him. He just kept on crying over Fred's body.

After what felt like an hour, Percy suggested that they move the body to the Great Hall. George nodded, no feeling left inside him. He stood up and lifted Fred's body. Percy offered to help but he shook his head. He wanted to this, he was his twin, and he hurt more than him.

Like a procession, Percy leading the way and George following carrying Fred's body, they walked through the halls of Hogwarts together. Whenever they passed a student or someone who knew the twins, they would gasp and cry out, shocked at the loss of one of the famous Weasley Twins. George sobbed. The famous Weasley Twins, without Fred he was the famous Weasley. He couldn't look at Fred, couldn't stand looking at him in his state.

When they reached the Great Hall, George stopped. He could he see his whole family, minus Ron, huddled together. They were probably thinking how lucky they were. Not anymore.

Percy looked at George, his eyes saying _I'll go first. I'll tell them._ George nodded his head. Percy really had changed; lucky Fred was alive to see it.

Percy walked in, head held high. George could see he was fighting back tears. Mrs. Weasley spotted him first and ran to give a big hug.

"Percy! Oh my Percy! You're okay!" she said, still grasping him. Percy hugged her back half-heartedly. George could see the burden on his shoulders.

Mrs. Weasley released him and asked "Have you seen Fred or George? I know Ron's okay, but I'm not sure about those two." She smiled, probably thinking of all those times Fred and George had disappeared to make mischief. _Not this time mum._

Percy looked behind him, and that was George's cue to make himself seen. Slowly, his legs refusing to cooperate, he walked towards his family, the body of Fred in his hands. At first Mrs. Weasley didn't see him, and when she did she didn't notice the body yet, for her expression was unchanged. Then she saw him. She saw her son, her dear son, in his twin's arms, his face pale and blank. She let out an anguished cry. It rang through the hall, causing people to turn in their direction. People who knew them gasped when they saw the twins.

Mrs. Weasley ran to George, tears in her eyes. George held out Fred, and Mrs. Weasley took him. She continued to sob. Her legs shook, whether from crying or the weight of Fred's lifeless body George didn't know. Mr. Weasley came running up and took Fred. He lay him down on a table and paused, looking at his son. Mrs. Weasley couldn't control herself. She threw herself onto Fred's body, weeping uncontrollably. Mr. Weasley didn't speak; he just stroked his wife's hair while tears fell from his eyes. Ginny, shocked and upset, kept her distance from her brother's body. She didn't want to see her brother's once smiling face now pale and empty. Bill and Fleur just stood there, crying. Fleur made audible sobs and hiccoughs, and Bill just put an arm over her shoulder, tears falling from his eyes too. Percy stood next to them, but he didn't cry. It was as though he ran out of tears. George went to where Fred's head lay, and knelt down next to it. I just looked at his face, a face that would never move again.

George began to cry. Loosing Fred hurt more than loosing his ear. It was like loosing a limb.

He saw Ron and Hermione come towards them. Ah, Ron and Hermione. He and Fred had always teased to Ron that Hermione would soon be their Sister-In-Law. He frowned at the memory. If Ron and Hermione did get together Fred wouldn't be there. He wouldn't be there for so many things, marriages, nieces and nephews, and grandchildren. George cried harder than ever.

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Harry was dead. Their only hope was dead. But George wouldn't give up. He wanted to avenge Fred's death, and so did Lee. They battled every Death Eater around. He didn't know who killed Fred, but he was willing to go and kill every Death Eater there was. He and Lee attacked any Death Eater possible.

But it wasn't enough. The curses that shot through his wand and the falling bodies of Death Eaters didn't fill the hole in his heart where the living Fred once was. Whenever he shot a curse at one he thought to himself _'I hope you rot in hell' _or _'May your family suffer as mine has'. _But it didn't work. Each time one fell, he would just turn and aim at the next. No smile was on his face, no emotion was seen.

Lee Jordan noticed this in his friend. He had known the twins since their first day at Hogwarts. He too felt the pang of pain when he saw Fred's lifeless figure. It was a horrible, empty feeling. It made him shiver and sob every two minutes. It was a bad feeling, and he knew it must be a whole lot worse for George.

Lee tried to make him smile. Saying things like "He's gonna feel that in the morning" or "I hope he told the Dark Lord that he loves him before he left" but George's face was stiff and unchanged. It was as if death had taken Fred and all the laughter and joy along with him. It was, in a way, like George was gone too.

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He was gone. The Dark Lord, Voldemort, was dead and for real this time. They had all seen it with their own eyes. He just, dropped.

The Great Hall erupted with cheers. All ran and hugged Harry, screaming things like "He's gone!", "Voldemort no more!", and "We can say his name now!" No one had seen the hall this bright and cheery. High above their heads Peeves was chanting "Voldy is gone! Potter was the one! Let's give him three cheers! And drink Butterbeer!"

George had taken his place among the cheering crowd. He had patted Harry on the back and screamed along with the others. For a few minutes, nothing else was on his mind besides pure bliss. _'This is amazing!' _he thought _'This must be the biggest party at five in the morning! Fred would've loved this.' _And then it hit him. It was like a big **BANG **had gone off in his head in the middle of happiness and joy. Fred wasn't here. He wasn't here and never will be. The happiness was gone, replaced by the familiar pain and sorrow.

He separated himself from the cheering crowd. He saw his family, laughing and cheering. He walked away, not wanting to spoil their fun. He stepped into the Entrance Hall, where the bodies had been placed. He stopped at Fred's body. He crouched down and told him "We've won Fred. You hear that? Voldemort is dead! Harry's done it! You should see the celebration going on in the Great Hall; I swear that they'll crush Harry with their hugs and slaps on the back!" Fred's face was still the same. George felt foolish talking to his dead brother, but he didn't care all that much.

He stood up, glanced at Fred's body and made his way up the stairway. When he reached the landing, he made his way through the empty hallways, ignoring the questions and comments of the portraits he passed. He only wanted to see one portrait right now.

He stopped in front of the Fat Lady. She looked at him and smiled. "Well, well, if it isn't George, or are you Fred? No matter, you still are one of them. Say, where is your companion? I thought you two were inseparable."

George just looked at her, his eyes sad and weary. She understood at once. She gave him a pitying glance then swung open and let him in.

George looked at his old Common Room. It looked the same, only emptier. Everything was emptier these days. He walked up the stairs leading to the boys dormitories. He turned to the door on his right. His old dormitory room. He had shared it with Fred, Lee, and two other kids their age. He reached out and turned the knob. He stepped into an old and familiar room. He took in what he saw. He saw his old bed, where he had spent many nights dreaming up new ways to annoy the hell out of everyone. He looked at the bed across form his, where Lee had slept. Then he saw the bed right next to his. He felt a lump in his throat. Fred's bed. The bed where the twins had sat down on, perfecting their merchandise and counting their profits.

Fred walked over to it. It was messy, blankets thrown aside. Whoever now slept there got up in a hurry. _'Duh George, hadn't they all?' _He told himself. He nearly smiled but then forced himself not to. No, now that Fred was gone he would never smile again. Never.

He pulled off his shoes and lay himself down on the bed. Sure, it wasn't Fred's now, but it once had been. In fact, he could still feel the Fred in the old worn out mattress.

He lay facing up, his back on the bed. He looked at the fabric above the bed and thought

'_What now? Fred has always been a part of me. Without me I'm only half here. How will I run our joke shop alone? How can I sleep in our big apartment by myself? Why did you have to die now Fred? _

'_But, what if, what if I died too? What if I suffocated myself, or jumped out the window? Then we'd be the Weasley Twins again, not just George. The Weasley twins, Gred and Forge, like before, like always.'_

"Wait a minute, you're thinking of committing suicide?" came a voice.

George whipped his head around. He thought he had been along in the room.

"You can't commit suicide! Besides, not like you have the guts to go through with it." The voice said again. George knew the voice. It was Fred.

"Fred? You're alive?" George said, half happy, half confused.

"Alive? Me? No, I'm just the friendly voice in your head, a sign that you have completely mad." Fred's voice said.

George paused. He didn't know what to make of this. The voice spoke again.

"Ha! I'm not really a voice in your head. Well, technically I sort of am a voice in your head, but you're not mad. This is my way of communicating to you.

"Dear brother, you can't kill yourself, not even for me. With me gone, half the laughter is gone too. But if you go, there goes all the laughter. Think about it, no one will ever laugh again. The world will be boring and sad and dull without at least one of us around. And when the time does come, you'll have a few little miniature us' running around to carry on!"

George listened to his brother's ghost. He knew he was his ghost, he couldn't see it, but he just knew. He always knew when it came to his twin.

"And to continue, about our joke shop, you see, you have to continue it. I don't care how sad it makes you feel, or how you may never handle it alone. Buck up! It was our dream, me being dead doesn't mean the dream has to be too.

"One last thing and I'll have to go. Whenever you don't want to do something because I'm not there to do it with you, don't stop. Don't let me hold you back. Live your life, don't end it like mine."

George was afraid. His brother was leaving. "Don't go! Please, I need you!" he called out.

At first no one answered. But then a voice finally replied.

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm right here. You just won't see me or hear me. But I'll see and hear you. I'm like your guardian angel now mate. And when you're feeling down, or have those stupid suicide thoughts again, I'll talk to you. You'll hear me again one day. And when it's your time, I'll be waiting for you. We'll be together again, just not now. I promise.

"See you later Gred!"

"See you later Forge!" George called back. He was answered by silence.

George lay back on the bed. He would see and hear Fred again. After all, Fred always kept his promises. Except for that one time…and that other time too, well, he always kept promises made to him, his twin brother. Besides, he was still there, watching him right now.

And, at that thought, George finally smiled. He closed his eyes and slept.

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"George?" said a voice.

George opened his eyes.

"George?" it said again.

'_Fred?' _thought George _'I knew you couldn't leave me!'_

"Mate, are you there?" Lee said.

George sighed. It hadn't been Fred, just Lee.

There was a knocking at the door. "George!" Lee called, a little more desperately.

"We know you're in there George!" Ron's voice said, followed by the sound of pounding fists at the door.

"Yeah, George, come out of there! Mum and Dad are worried sick!" Ginny's voice said.

When no answer came, Ron said in a frightened voice "You-you don't think he, _killed_ himself did you?"

"I don't know. He did seem desperate to be with Fred again." Lee replied in a worried tone.

'_I __was__ that desperate.' _George thought to himself.

"Oh no! Loosing Fred was hard enough, but loosing George too…" said Ginny.

"Do you really think he had the nerve to do it?" Harry's voice questioned.

"Maybe." Ron answered.

"But he can't have!" Hermione put in.

"But he has!" Ginny wailed. She sounded a lot more like the old, sensitive, painfully shy Ginny. "He killed himself, using the Killing Curse or drowning himself in his own tears!"

"Of course I didn't kill myself!" George answered at last, tired of their calls and wailing.

He walked over to the door and opened it.

"But I'm flattered you think I'd have the guts to do so." He grinned.

Harry, Lee, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione looked at him, stunned.

"George-"

"-you're-"

"-actually-"

"-smiling!"

George smiled again. "Of course I am! With Fred gone, I have to work twice as hard to make you guys laugh!"

They all hugged George. George was a little embarrassed, but hugged them back anyway.

"You're back! You're back!" Ginny exclaimed.

George looked at her. "Has all that happened messed with your brain? What happened to the tough, stubborn girl that stole Harry's heart?" he teased.

Ginny blushed. "She's in here." She replied.

"Come on mate, let's go and see mum and dad." Ron said.

They walked down the corridors of the old school together, happy at last.

--1 Year Later--

George was walking across the grassy school grounds. He wore a long black coat and carried a parcel in one hand. He stopped a few feet away from the school. He looked at Hogwarts. Memories flooded back. This was his second home. He learned here, pulled pranks here (actually, there were more pranks than learning going on), and fought here for the greater good. This was also the place where his twin brother had lost his life.

He entered the castle and walked through the corridors. How familiar they were, like walking through memory lane. He stopped at a bare wall. To most, it was just a wall, rebuilt after the war. But to George it was where all had changed. This was the place where, according to Percy, Fred had had his last laugh. He gazed down at the floor, where Fred's body landed. This was where it happened, a year ago.

George felt a stabbing pain in his heart. He had never gotten over it. He smiled and laughed, but only to mask his fear and sorrow. It was what the twins had always done. At night he would stare at the empty bed beside his and cry. Sometimes he would yell out, screaming for his brother. He wanted to talk to him again; he wanted Fred to comfort him like he had done before. But he hadn't heard his voice since that one morning.

He unwrapped the package in his hands. It was a map that he and Fred had used so often before, the Marauders Map. Harry had given it back to George, saying that it didn't feel right having it. George understood, the map had a piece of Fred in there. But even so he tried to give it back to Harry, after all it had once been his father's and godfathers. So they had an agreement. It would stand as a memoir, in memory of the fallen.

They had placed the map in a picture frame, opened for all to see its splendor. George took out his wand, waved it, and the map was on the wall. Then he took out four small plaques from inside his coat pocket. He too magically attached them to the wall, above the map in a perfect line. He looked them over, one by one, his eyes resting on the last one. He smiled as a small tear rolled down his face.

"Whatcha doin' here?" came a voice. George turned and saw it was Filch.

"I got permission to put these up." George replied, indicating the map and plaques.

Filch looked at them, read them. It was an awkward silence, standing there with an old nemesis. Finally, Filch spoke. "So that's how you two been goin' around the school?"

George nodded in response. Filch read over the plaques. He said something that surprised George near to death.

"You and your brother, you two were annoying, but not bad people. Naughty, but not bad. Fred didn't deserve what he got, but he died a hero."

George looked at him, shock written all over his face. He didn't know what to say.

"WHAT?!" he exclaimed.

Filch looked at him as though he were an idiot. "You heard me. You two were a nuisance, but he ain't deserve to die that way. Hey, even Filch has a heart." And he smiled (well, sort off) then walked away.

George looked at the last plaque again and said "You hear that? Filch misses you. Who would've thought he had feelings in there?"

Silence responded.

"You may find it a bit too touchy, but I think that it's perfect." George said. He turned around, took one last look at the wall where five things now hung, and walked away.

_Fred Weasley_

_Son, Brother, Friend, Twin_

_And one hell of a Prankster _

"I think it's perfect too George." Fred replied. Fred's soul followed George out of the castle, their second home.

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**A/N: That was long and touchy. And sad. Jeez, some friends of mine won't finish it because it's so sad. I consider that a good thing. ;)**

**And about the ghost/soul thing, Fred isn't like Nearly Headless Nick, he's more like a guardian angel. Someone who leads George through life protecting him and stuff. It just seemed too cruel to leave George alone. **


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